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Justify Halter The Centerpiece Of Kentucky Horse Council’s Online Fundraising Auction

The Kentucky Horse Council (KHC) has launched an online auction to raise needed funds for the 501c3 nonprofit. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many charities to reevaluate their fundraising strategies this year and the KHC is no different, having cancelled both its Prosecco for Ponies event and its Kentucky Equine Networking Association (KENA) dinners.

Hosted on eBay, the auction is now open and will close on Sunday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.

All funds raised from the online auction will go directly toward funding key welfare initiatives to keep Kentucky horses safe; supporting horse owners in need of temporary financial reprieve of horse-care costs; and awarding scholarships to Kentucky students with an equine-industry focus.

Auction items include:
Professional drone video of a Central Kentucky farm
Horseshoe plaque from War Front, son of Danzig and a super sire who stands at Claiborne Farm
Equine feed, supplements, treats and more
Halter from Triple Crown Winner Justify, who stands at Coolmore America
Box seats at the 2021 Keeneland Spring or Fall race meet
Authentic oak wine barrel from Equus Run Vineyards in Midway, Ky.
Tickets for four to a Horse Country Experience
Tour and wine tasting for 10 at Equus Run Vineyards in Midway, Ky.
Prints of Thoroughbred racehorses Wise Dan, Afleet Alex, Barbaro and more
Books, artwork, notecards and more
Equestrian-themes gift baskets for horses and humans

Auction items can be viewed and bid on at www.ebay.com/usr/ky_horse_council

Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Kentucky Horse Council, a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization dedicated, through education and leadership, to the protection and development of the Kentucky equine community. For more information, visit kentuckyhorse.org

The post Justify Halter The Centerpiece Of Kentucky Horse Council’s Online Fundraising Auction appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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New Colic Pain Scale Assesses Discomfort Quickly

Two equine hospitals have trialed a pain scale to assess the level of discomfort of 237 horses referred to the clinics for colic. The veterinarians concluded that the sale was reliable, easy to use and fast.

Drs. Yamit Maskato, Alexandra Dugdale, Ellen Singer, Gal Kelmer and Gila Sutton created the Equine Acute Abdominal Pain Scale (EAAPS) in 2013. The scientists report that the scale requires no training, can be used easily in hospital settings and can improve equine welfare.

They suggest that the EAAPS now be tested in the field by veterinarians, as well as by horse owners and farm caretakers who lack medical training. Colic is the most common cause of equine deaths in the United States. Severity of pain is an important parameter for decision making regarding a horse that is colicking; it can also assist in evaluating pain-relieving measures, patient status and surgical or euthanasia decisions.

The EAAP gives typical colic behaviors a one-digit score to grade the severity of pain, with 1 being the most mild (flank watching or lip curling) to 5 being the most severe (rolling). Participants at the two clinics where the EAAP was trialed reported that the EAAP was quick and easy to use, even with no training on the scale.

The creators determined that the EAAPS is feasible to use in an equine clinical setting to determine the severity of colic cases.

Read the full article here.

British Charity Rehomes Horses In An Innovative Way; Less Stress For Equines

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered life for many horse owners in Britain, forcing them to relinquish their animals as financial resources to care for them dwindle. Many rescues and adoption centers that assist horses in Britain are full, but they are preparing for an even more difficult winter as job losses continue and finances become tighter.

Blue Cross for Pets is a rehoming organization that helps horses, cats, dogs and other small pets in England, Wales and Scotland. The organization also has animal clinics and hospitals that assist sick and injured pets when their owners are struggling to afford the veterinary fees.

Blue Cross has created a “Home Direct” service to place horses into new homes straight from their current situation, eliminating the need for the horse to be moved more than once. This resource also takes the pressure off charities that may already be struggling and allows them to focus on welfare emergencies.

Blue Cross staff thoroughly assess each horse and then place it on the charity's website to find a new owner. Once a new potential owner is located, Blue Cross arranges and oversees the initial visit and introduction process. If the match is a good one, the horse is taken from its old home directly to its new home, reducing stress on the horse as it acclimates to one new environment instead of two. In each step of the process, the horse is treated as if it were living at a Blue Cross center.

Since its launch in 2015, Blue Cross Home Direct has helped 87 horses. Any horse can be a candidate for Home Direct if it passes a health check and is not on any long-term medications. The goal of Home Direct is to assist horses by finding them new homes while they are still healthy, instead of waiting to offer help when they are potentially in a welfare crisis.

Thus far in 2020, the United States has reported record numbers of equine adoptions, but equine rescue and adoption advocates are unsure if and when a large influx of horses needing help will come because of the pandemic.

Britain Remains Free From West Nile Virus

Samples from nearly 1,000 British horses revealed no presence of West Nile Virus (WNV). Transmitted by mosquitoes, West Nile Virus can cause severe neurological issues in horses; the disease has a fatality rate of about 33 percent in unvaccinated animals.

Drs. Arran Folly, Elisabeth Waller, Fiona McCracken, Lorraine McElhinney, Helen Roberts and Nicholas Johnson note that while this is good news for horse owners, they must remain vigilant in the fight against the disease. WNV is seen in many parts of the world, including the United States, southern Europe and Germany.

The researchers focused their study on southeast England, the area of Britain considered most at risk for virus introduction. The virus is most likely spread geographically by birds that have the virus; horses are a dead-end host for WNV.

Two of the 998 horses tested were positive for WNV antibodies, but upon further review, it was deemed that the antibodies were a result of vaccination for the virus within seven days of the testing.

The scientists concluded that there was no evidence of West Nile Virus transmission in England in 2019; this is in agreeance with the results of a 2019 British bird surveillance, which also found no West Nile Virus RNA in the birds.

Read the short report here.